Creating The Perfect Home Checklist

Choosing a true luxury home doesn’t have to mean finding one with gilded ceilings, marble floors, and a grand staircase. In fact, luxury home living is more about function over form; it means selecting, designing, and furnishing a space that matches your tastes.

To reach your goal of choosing the perfect luxury home that you will love for years to come, it is important to know what to look for. The right home for you should address your comfort in every way possible. Whether it’s brand new construction or a home that was built more than a century ago, the luxury home you choose should feel as if it was created for you. Here are 9 steps you can take to find and select your ideal luxury home.

1. Visualize Your Ideal Home

First and foremost, you should take some time to form a clear image of your ideal home. As you visit or view more luxury homes, you will develop a comprehensive idea of what your perfect home should include.

The right luxury home is more than just a high asking price. For example, think about what your ideal luxury dining room or luxury bedrooms should include. How much importance do you put on an open floor plan or a spacious kitchen with luxury appliances? Prioritize your list so you can formulate what your new home should have and what it should avoid.

2. Find a Great Realtor

Seek a Realtor or real estate agent with luxury home expertise. Every Realtor has his or her niche. For example, some of them focus on first time home buyers while others specialize in certain neighborhoods. It is essential to work with an agent with extensive experience in the luxury home market.

Also, choose a Realtor who is familiar with the neighborhoods you are considering. They will be best equipped to find options that meet your requirements. Luxury homes for sale are not always officially listed. Realtors in the luxury market often know about such opportunities — called pocket listings — when other real estate agents do not.

3. Start the Pre-Approval Process Right Away

Luxury home sellers do not want to waste their time with potential buyers who cannot afford their asking price. Obtaining pre-approval to buy a luxury home is more involved than the usual home buying experience. It may be in your best interest to work with your financial advisers to ensure that you are pre-approved before you make your first inquiries.

4. Tour the Inside

What makes a home a true luxury residence is not always its curb appeal or what photos on a real estate website reveal about it. For example, you can’t truly appreciate having a luxury living room until you have stepped into one. Similarly, you will not know if a granite countertop is one-of-a-kind until you run your hands over it.

5. Think Ahead

Look into the future. Since a luxury home is a huge investment, find out what is planned for the neighborhood. That attractive green space two blocks away may be slated for a new shopping center or a large apartment complex may be planned for a nearby lot. Either one could cause home values in the area to depreciate rapidly.

6. Find Out the Home’s History

For an older luxury home, research the architect and the builder to find out how their work has been regarded. For a recent construction home, find out if there are any red flags regarding maintenance or structural issues connected to the builder. If the home is in Florida or another southern state, you'll especially want to know if the windows meet the latest hurricane standards. One of the last things you'll want to do before a hurricane is have to put up shutters on the second- or third-floor windows.

It is also important to know the history of previous owners. For instance, it occasionally occurs that survivors of previous owners make claims of ownership. Be sure to purchase title insurance to guard yourself financially against such a possibility.

7. Investigate Ongoing Expenses

Variations in tax rates abound; they can and do change from one neighborhood to the next. Know what you can expect to pay in property taxes before you purchase the home. With luxury homes, differences of a decimal point or two can make a large difference in annual costs.

Also, learn what to expect regarding heating and cooling expenses. Luxury homes, with their above-average square footage and possible excess of energy-consuming features, can often surprise their owners when the first mid-summer cooling bill comes due.

8. Demonstrate Patience

Luxury homes take longer to sell than homes with lower value. It is not unusual for high-end homes to remain on the market for a year or more. That is, in part, because there is a smaller pool of potential buyers. By remaining patient, you have a better chance of finding exactly the right home for you at much less than the initial asking price.

9. Trust Your Tastes

Do not choose your luxury home based on how others define it. The luxury home buying process is about finding the home that feels like a perfect fit you, your lifestyle, and your comfort needs.

Why Luxury Interiors Matter

A luxury home is defined by its details. That includes giving your attention to choices in luxury furniture, high-end appliances, and other accoutrements that will make your new home unique from floor to ceiling. Luxury interior design services can help you turn the ideal of a perfect home into a reality.

Every facet of a luxury home should not only reflect your style, but should also bring you joy and comfort. When you find the home that is right for you, a luxury interior design professional can help you bring everything together so your luxury home will delight you for years to come.